Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. Researchers at the Duke Global Health Institute in the United States have reported that by testing a new serum biomarker in blood, knee osteoarthritis can be predicted 8 years earlier than detecting this disease using X-rays. The related paper was published in the latest issue of the journal "Science Advances."
Current X-ray diagnostic methods typically only identify arthritis after structural damage in the knee joint has occurred.
Now, the Duke University research team has found a biomarker in the blood that can differentiate between women with knee osteoarthritis and those without the disease, even capturing molecular signals of arthritis 8 years before many women are diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis using X-rays.
The study involved 200 white women from the UK, with 100 diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis and the other 100 without the disease as a control group.
Results showed that with just 6 serum peptides (corresponding to 6 proteins), it is possible to differentiate with 74% accuracy between individuals who may develop arthritis 8 years later and the control group who will not develop arthritis 8 years later.
This study further confirms the accuracy of blood tests and identifies key biomarkers for osteoarthritis. The findings demonstrate its ability to predict the progression of the disease.
Researchers emphasize the importance of this, as blood tests provide more evidence than X-rays, indicating abnormalities in the joints. This offers a "window of opportunity" for early osteoarthritis intervention to prevent disease progression and restore joint health.
